Las Cruces Purchases 5 BYD Buses For Its RoadRUNNER Fleet
The Las Cruces City Council has approved the purchase of five BYD buses, BYD announced in a press release. The K8M buses are 35-foot battery-electric buses that will be used for the city’s RoadRUNNER Transit fleet. The K8M is an American-mad transit bus that can seat up to 33 people.
It comes with up to a 435 kWh LFP battery and can be fully charged within 3 hours. It also has a high scoring record in the Federal Transit Administration Model Bus Testing Program for safety, reliability, durability, and maintainability.
The contract between BYD and the City of Las Cruces, NM, is a total of 5 years, and under that contract the city will purchase five K8Ms. There’s also an option to purchase seven more buses. The new K8Ms are planned to arrive in Las Cruces next fall (2022) and be operational before Christmas 2022. The new fully electric buses will replace older, polluting buses.
The new buses are manufactured in an ISO 9001-certified American factory and comply with strict Buy America standards, the press release noted. The length of the buses and motor coaches included in the agreement are:
- 30-foot K7M
- 35-foot K8M
- 40-foot K9M
- 60-foot K11M
- 23-foot C6M (motor coach)
- 40-foot C9M (motor coach)
- 45-foot C10M (motor coach)
Mike Bartholomew, the city’s Transit Administrator, touched upon the city’s sustainability initiatives and the opportunity BYD presented:
“As part of its sustainability initiatives, the Las Cruces City Council is committed to making the city a model of sustainable practices which includes converting City fleet vehicles to electric vehicles.
“We are very excited about the opportunity to start the process of moving to a fully electric fleet in the city’s RoadRUNNER Transit service.”
Patrick Duan, BYD North America Senior Vice President, noted that BYD was a perfect fit for the city.
“BYD buses, known around the country for their style, safety and innovation, are a perfect fit for Las Cruces.
“We see a great and expanding market for our brand in New Mexico and know that residents and riders will appreciate this clean, quiet and efficient addition to the city’s fleet.”
This news follows news of New Mexico opening its arms to BYD earlier this year.
New Mexico officials chose BYD to participate in a statewide purchase agreement that gives transit agencies throughout the Land of Enchantment and the United States the ability to buy American-made BYD coaches and buses. Read more at: https://t.co/t3JuSN64x5
— BYD (@BYDCompany) June 19, 2021
Earlier this month, BYD shared some notable statistics about its battery-electric buses on Twitter. In total, BYD has sold over 68,000 buses across the world, preventing:
- 114,947,040 tons of C02
- 1,836,432 cars worth of emissions
- 80,160 tons of nitrogen oxide
- 23,805,600 lb of diesel particulate matter
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